The Health Research Extension Act (HREA) is the law that provides funding
for the National Institutes of Health and certain other federal funding
agencies. It's animal welfare provisions apply to all facilities that
accept federal funds and use live vertebrate animals in research. (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/hrea1985.htm)

The passage of the HREA led to the drafting of the US Public Health Service
Policy which instructs research facilities how they must conduct themselves
to receive federal funding for research involving live, vertebrate animals.
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/phspol.htm)

The Institute for Laboratory Animal Resoures (ILAR)

Receipt of federal funding requires institutions to provide animal
care in accordance with the National Research Council's ILAR Guide for
the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. (http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/)

ILAR also publishes a number of useful documents about laboratory animals
including:

The AVMA's
Panel on Euthanasia uses the best scientific evidence to determine
what methods of euthanasia are professionally acceptable. This document
has been incorporated into both the Animal Welfare Act and the Public
Health Service Policy as the single authoritative document determining
how research animals may be euthanized.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

The USDA's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Animal Care enforces
the federal Animal Welfare Act. They have a network of Animal Welfare
Inspectors throughout the US. They have been known to visit UC Davis
as frequently as 50 times per year. All USDA inspections are unannounced,
and they have a right to visit any animal holding area and any research
lab in which animals are used.

The National Institutes of Health's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare
(OLAW) ensures that facilities receiving federal funds follow all current
federal Guidelines. OLAW is responsible for both human subjects and
animal welfare issues.

In order to receive federal funds for animal research, and institution
must file an Animal Welfare Assurance with OLAW. OLAW maintains a database
of all US institutions that have filed Animal Welfare Assurances. NIH
also maintains the CRISP Database of federally funded research projects.

OLAW has also recently issued a policy statement about the production
of monoclonal antibodies in mice. Investigators who produce monoclonal
antibodies in mice are now required to specifically justify why an in-vitro
method would not be suitable for their project.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets the standards for research
performed in the act of proving the safety and efficacy of new drugs.
Any data used to prove the safety and efficacy of a new drug must be
performed according the FDA's Good Laboratory Practices, including special
provisions for non-clinical trials.

FDA also protects the human food chain by determining what drugs may
be lawfully used in food animals. They enforce regulations dealing with
the extra label use of drugs in food animals. FDA has also issued a
policy statement about the use of toe-clipping as a means of identification
in rodents.

The Association for Accreditation and Assessment of Laboratory Care,
International AALAC) is a voluntary accrediting body that visits institutions
and assures their compliance with all existing laws, regulations, and
guidelines. Over 80% of the top 100 federally funded research facilities
in the United States are accredited by AAALAC. AAALAC publishes a list
of AAALAC Accredited Institutions. They also provide a series of carefully
considered position statements about a variety of program issues, including
adequate veterinary care, occupational health programs, farm animals,
survival surgical facilities, etc.

The American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine is a professional
specialty board that certifies veterinarians with special expertise
in Laboratory Animal Medicine. Of particular interest is their public
policy statement on Adequate Veterinary Care, which provides a professional
consensus as to what constitutes adequate veterinary care for research
animals.

Americans for Medical Progress is a pro-research lobbying group. They
have a great history page about discoveries made through animal research.
If you receive requests for general information about biomedical research,
this is a great place to refer them.

Animals
in Science is a web publication by the Minnesota branch of the American
Association for Laboratory Animal Science. The page provides K-12 students,
teachers, and others with basic information about the use of animals
in research.